Starcrossed
by NevilleCanKickMattLewis'Butt
Summary: Another generation of Weasleys, another generation of Malfoys - or rather, one Malfoy and his group of friends - and another round of contention. What will it take for these two families to bury their parents' strife?
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. The characters (except Merric and Cara, who I made up) belong to J.K. Rowling. The plot belongs to William Shakespeare, as do many of the chapter titles. My username is a universal truth that belongs to everyone.**

PROLOGUE

xxxxxxx

Two families, both alike in infamy

(In good old Hogwarts, where this tale takes place),

Solve all their issues with civility,

Where civil fist is thrown at civil face.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,

A pair of star-crossed lovers mends the rift.

But do not fret if you are fond of Rose:

Soon Shakespeare will give way to Taylor Swift.


	2. Beshrew that Heart

Beshrew that Heart that Makes my Heart to Groan.

xxxxxxx

The Great Hall was nearly empty when Scorpius came stumbling down the stairs.

"Morning, Scorpius!" Merric called out cheerfully between bites of toast. He had come to breakfast at the same time as most of the other Slytherins in their year, but was only now finishing; he had always been a slow eater. "'bout time you showed up!"

Scorpius blinked at him with bloodshot eyes. Merric suddenly noticed that a few things were off about his friend's usually impeccable appearance: His pale blonde hair wasn't brushed, and his shoes and jacket didn't match. "Morning?" Scorpius mumbled. "It seems like it should be at least noon."

Merric felt like he should be finding out what was wrong with Scorpius, but he didn't know how to go about it. Instead, he motioned to a spot on the bench next to him. "Sit down," he urged. "There's still some food left."

"Not hungry," Scorpius grunted, slumping like a dropped marionette onto the seat. Instead of eating, he held his head in one hand and stared at the table.

"Toast?" Merric offered tentatively, gesturing to one of the plates in front of them.

"Hmmph," said Scorpius, not looking up.

"Hey, mate," said Merric, snapping his fingers in front of Scorpius' face. "Somethin' the matter?"

Finally, Scorpius spared him a mournful glance. "Nothing."

"Nothing, hm? That explains a lot."

Scorpius, who had dropped his gaze back down like it was a heavy weight, didn't answer.

They ate in silence for a minute- or rather, Merric nibbled his toast, and Scorpius sat in sorrowful contemplation.

"She said no!" Scorpius burst out with sudden anguish.

"Who- Oh! You mean Cara? Turned you down, did she? That sucks."

Scorpius nodded at the table.

"Is that all?" asked Merric.

"What do you mean?"

"Is that the only reason you're acting so down?"

Scorpius looked up, shocked. "Isn't that enough?"

"Erm, well… I dunno… don't you think," Merric began hesitantly, "Er, don't you think you're overreacting a bit?"

"No!" Scorpius snapped. "I bloody well am NOT."

"Scorpius! It's not the end of the world. There're plenty of fish in the sea."

"Plenty of fish, yes, but only one Cara." The sad, dreamy look was returning to Scorpius' face.

Merric snorted, drawing a stony glare from his friend.

"You don't understand," Scorpius explained heavily. "You don't understand love."

"Sure I do! I just don't go moping around every time some pretty Ravenclaw won't accompany to Hogsmeade."

"She's not just a pretty Ravenclaw, Merric!" Scorpius' voice rose to a passionate pitch. "She's my soulmate! We belong together! I know it!"

Merric averted his eyes in exasperation, glad that there weren't many people around to witness Scorpius' ridiculous outburst.

"Cara told me she doesn't date," Scorpius continued in a tone of melancholy. "Can you imagine? She's so pretty, and nobody gets to date her. She says she doesn't like boys. What if she never has children- then her beauty will be lost forever, never to be passed down…"

Merric elected not to tell Scorpius that he had seen Cara snogging someone's mouth off in the corridor the other day.

After a few more minutes of passionate complaining, Scorpius seemed, if not happier, at least hungrier. He began dishing out some of every kind of food for himself. Eggs, toast, sausages… but when he got to the pumpkin juice, Scorpius paused. It wasn't hard to see why. The glass pitcher was shattered.

Merric watched in amusement as Scorpius' gaze drifted from the broken pitcher, to the skewed tablecloth, to the scorch marks on the wall, to the overturned Hufflepuff table, to the food scattered across the ground. "What in the name of Merlin's baggiest trousers happened here?" Scorpius cried with considerable astonishment.

Merric burst out laughing. "Took you long enough to notice," he managed between guffaws.

"It's not that funny…" said Scorpius after a few seconds.

Merric just laughed harder. "You came in here… didn't even notice for about fifteen minutes… you were so out of it…" he choked.

"Merric!"

Merric took a deep breath to calm himself. "Alright, mate," he said with a lingering giggle. "This" (chuckle) "is what happened." (snicker) "There were loads of people in the Great Hall, just talking and eating and wandering about, a typical Saturday morning, right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well- I just so happened to be looking over there when it happened- a couple of Gryffindors, James and Albus Potter, do you know them?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Er… not really. I sort of know who they are…"

"Well, anyway, as I was saying, these two Gryffindors are passing by a couple of Slytherins. One of the Slytherins was Higgs- you know Higgs. You don't mess with him."

Scorpius nodded and shoved a bite of eggs in his mouth.

"Well, as the two Slytherins were passing the two Gryffindors going in the other direction… Albus, the younger brother, _showed the two Slytherin blokes his middle finger_."

Scorpius quickly swallowed his egg. "What did they do?" he asked eagerly.

"Nothin' – it was completely unprovoked."

"No, I mean, what did they do after Potter gave them the finger?"

"Ah, yes, of course. Well, Higgs says to Potter, did you just give me the finger? An' Potter says to Higgs, well, I did lift up my middle finger, and Higgs says to Potter, but were you givin' ME the finger, and Potter thinks a bit, and says, no, I wasn't giving the finger to you. But when Higgs tries to walk by, Potter steps in front of him and says, but I WAS giving the finger. And Higgs kinda growls and asks if Potter wants to fight, is that it? And Potter says, no, unless YOU want to fight. So Higgs draws his wand and Potter draws his wand and both their companions draw their wands as well and suddenly everybody's firing hexes, and almost the whole school ends up joining in," Merric concluded with relish. "And, well…" he gestured to the ruined hall. "_This_ happened."

"I'll bet McGonagall wasn't too pleased," Scorpius noted.

Merric shook his head. "She wasn't. She said any more Gryffindor versus Slytherin duels and all participants will get detention every afternoon and evening for two months."

Scorpius let out a low whistle. "She's pretty serious, then."

"No kidding." Merric looked around the Great Hall, which was now completely empty. "Hey, it's lonely in here," he said. "Let's go somewhere else."

Scorpius looked at the enchanted ceiling, which was a welcoming shade of blue. "Let's go outside," he suggested, grabbing a couple sausages to go.

"Perfect!" Merric agreed. He may have distracted Scorpius temporarily, but his friend would certainly start dwelling on his heartbreak again soon. He might feel better about being rejected if he spent some time in the sun. Merric stood up and started toward the front doors. "Come on, then!"

Scorpius followed, chewing his sausages thoughtfully. The dejected expression was already sneaking back onto his face, but Merric ignored it in hopes that it would go away.

Unfortunately, they were barely outside when a group of cheery Ravenclaws passed in front of them, Cara among them. They chattered and laughed jovially, not noticing Merric and Scorpio.

Scorpio studied the blades of grass he was breaking under his feet. "Bet they were talking about me," he muttered after the Ravenclaws were gone.

Merric snorted. "Don't flatter yourself."

Scorpius sat down on the lawn. He didn't speak; he only plucked at the grass, tearing it up blade by blade.

Merric groaned inwardly and sat down next to him. "Mate!" he snapped. "Stop this! You are completely overreacting! It isn't the end of the world!"

"Am not," Scorpius told the ground insistently. "And, is too."

Merric had to chuckle at that. "It IS the end of the world?"

Scorpius nodded, looking very much like an oversized child.

"Pretty nice day for the end of the world," said Merric.

Scorpius gazed at the sky with contemplation. Merric suddenly realized that his comment had underlying layers of symbolism and perspective and… and… stuff. He had meant to do that, of course he had. He silently congratulated himself.

"You know, you're right…" Scorpius said after a few minutes. "I should probably go to the library and get some homework done."

Scorpius stood up, and Merric followed his lead, feeling extremely relieved and quite proud of himself.

"So how about that Herbology essay?" Merric asked conversationally as they walked back to their dormitory to grab their books. "Started it yet?"

Scorpius groaned. "No. Stupid Herbology…"

"Excuse me," came a voice from about chest height. Merric and Scorpio looked down to see a hopeful-looking first-year boy. "Do you know where I can find Cara Mason?"

"We saw her out front a few minutes ago, you can check there," answered Merric, "But what do you want her for?"

"I'm supposed to invite her to James Potter's birthday party," the boy said cheerfully. "It's going to be a great party, but-" He looked around as if afraid of being overheard. "Don't tell any teachers. It might not be _completely_ consistent with the school rules."

"Ah."

"Oh- don't feel bad if you don't get an invitation," the boy added. "He's inviting some specific people, but anyone that's not in Slytherin is free to show up."

Merric examined his and Scorpius' outfits. No scarves, no hats, no pins- there weren't wearing anything to identify themselves as Slytherins. The boy didn't realize what house they were in.

"So, if you're not in Slytherin, feel free to stop by. It's tonight at eight o'clock in the Gryffindor common room. Bye!" The first-year boy skipped merrily off.

"Hmm… party, eh?" Merric said thoughtfully.

"And Cara is going to be there," Scorpius added. "Too bad we can't go."

"Correction: we're not _allowed _to go."

Scorpius grinned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes," said Merric, "If you're thinking that we're going to crash Potter's birthday bash."

"Maybe I'll be able to convince Cara to date me," Scorpius exclaimed rapturously. "And we'll live happily ever after."

"Hey, none of that," Merric scolded. "You're going to meet new girls at the party and forget all about Cara Mason."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Fine. You can believe that if it makes you happy."

"But it's settled then? We're gonna sneak in?"

"Of course we are. Let's go see who else is up for it." Scorpius hurried down to the dungeons so fast that Merric could barely keep up.


	3. As an Unperfect Actor

**A/N: Wow, it's already been over a week since my last update. Time sure flies. If anyone is actually following this story, I apologize for the delay. However, I suspect that nobody is reading this at all. It isn't often that one searches "Harry Potter/Shakespeare crossovers". If you are reading, please review and tell me so. Otherwise I'll have no motivation to hurry up with the next chapter. Of course, NaNoWriMo is starting, so don't expect more until December.**

As an Unperfect Actor on the Stage

xxxxxxx

Scorpius felt like part of a top-secret operation as he crept down the torch-lit dungeon corridor. Around him, his friends stepped softly and spoke in whispers. It wasn't after hours yet, but a sense of stealth and mischief was affecting the whole group.

Scorpius and Merric had managed to find five other Slytherins interested in gatecrashing Potter's birthday party. Together they were seven, a powerful lucky number. They would need that luck tonight.

"What story are we going to give them to convince them to let us in?" Scorpius asked Merric.

"Ah, we don't have to give them any story," Merric answered confidently. "We'll just waltz right in like it's perfectly natural for us to be there."

"Hey," said Scorpius. "That's actually pretty smart."

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

The group emerged from the gloomy dungeons into a corridor tinged pink from the sunset outside the window. They immediately adopted a casual stroll. With two hours to go until curfew, the hallways were scattered with kids hanging out and wandering about.

With a jolt, Scorpius noticed Cara walking in the direction of Gryffindor tower a little ways ahead of them. As she chattered to a friend about something, she tossed her wavy hair over her shoulder, where it clung like a… like a clingy blonde waterfall.

He suddenly realized that Merric was poking him in the shoulder. "Scorpius?" Merric said with concern. "Scorpius? Hello?"

Scorpius turned to the others. "Come on!" he announced with new determination. "Let's go."

Five minutes later, the Slytherins approached the Gryffindor common room. James Potter was standing at the open portrait hole, waving people through. "Hi!" he greeted students as they scurried through. "Welcome! Come on in! Hey there! Welcome!"

As Scorpius sauntered up to the entrance, his heart pounded like a mountain troll's footsteps. He wiped his sweaty palms on his robes and looked at the floor, praying that Potter wouldn't recognize him.

James paid Scorpius no notice. "Welcome. Come on in. Have fun," he said as he distractedly waved him and his companions in.

As soon as they had worked themselves well into the crowd, Merric let out a loud whoop that quickly dissolved into the noise of the party. "We did it!" Scorpius cheered. High fives abounded, after which the Slytherins dispersed to enjoy the festivities.

Scorpius scanned the room, looking for Cara. With so many people around, she wasn't proving easy to locate. Finally, he spotted her talking to a friend next to the snack table. Scorpius immediately headed in that direction, weaving his way through the crowd.

The fast-paced music in the background faded out, and a lively waltz began. Without hesitation, guests started pairing up to dance. Those less keen on dancing migrated to the edges of the room. Scorpius increased his pace. If he could just get Cara to dance with him...

But it was too late. Another boy was already asking her. With a smile playing across her lips, she agreed.

Scorpius leaned against the edge of the snack table, crestfallen. He stayed in that position for several minutes, alternating his gaze between Cara, who continued to dance with other boys even after a new song started, and a rug on the floor near his feet. It was red with gold lining.

"Hey, Scorpius!"

Scorpius didn't look up from the rug, which was currently taking his turn under his hearty glare. "What do you want, Merric?"

"Are you going to dance at all tonight?"

"No."

Merric seemed to be caught off-guard by Scorpius' straight-forward answer, but recovered quickly. "Well, why not?" 

"Looks like Cara's dancing with everyone but me," Scorpius noted, gesturing in her direction with his head.

Merric grabbed Scorpius by both shoulders and began shaking him like a small child whose brain he wanted to damage. "I – told – you – to – meet – new – girls."

Scorpius' head flopped around apathetically until Merric stopped. "Some friend you are," Scorpius finally grumbled.

As he stalked off, he heard Merric call after him, "I'm the best friend you'll EVER have, you bloody WEENIE!"

xxxx

"James. James. James. James."

James groaned inwardly. He had just left Lily to wait at the portrait hole for straggling guests, and was hoping to start enjoying his party now, without annoying distractions. Of course, with an obnoxious little brother around, things rarely went as hoped. "What is it, Albus?"

Albus looked like he was exerting great effort to not jump from foot to foot with agitation. "I recognize some of the kids over there," he said intensely, pointing with a trembling finger.

"Wow!" James exclaimed sarcastically. "It's almost as if you go to the same school!"

"James! You didn't let me finish! I was going to say, I recognize some of the kids over there-"

"Again, that's not a surprise. In fact, it's expected."

"JAMES! I recognize the kids over there and they're-"

"Albus. You've already told me this. I don't know why you're so- OW!" He had punched him, out of the blue. Albus really was the most annoying brother in the world.

"JAMES. Listen to me! Those kids over there are _Slytherins_."

"And?"

Albus took a second to absorb James' response, being quite proud of himself for finally getting out his announcement. When he realized what James had said, the look on his face was positively comic. "And- well I- _No Slytherins allowed,_ remember?"

"Yes, I remember. So what do you propose to do?"

Albus hesitated, clearly suspecting this to be a trick question, but answered, "Er… make them get out, of course."

"So what you're saying is we should promote inter-house animosity and disrupt my birthday party, just so a few Slytherins won't be able to enjoy themselves tonight?"

"Er… er… hmph." Albus pouted and stalked off, shooting daggers with his eyes at the Slytherins.

xxxx

"Hey, you, I noticed you've just been sitting around all night. Why did you even bother coming?" Rose asked the boy lounging by the hearth. He looked up at her with unhappy eyes. To her relief, he didn't seem to recognize her any more than she recognized him. It was always awkward when someone called her by name and she couldn't remember theirs.

"I… I dunno. I didn't feel like dancing tonight." His hunched posture told a different story.

Feeling extroverted from the excitement of the party, Rose sat down on the couch next to him. "Care to talk about it?"

The boy gave her a confused look. She couldn't blame him. "Uh… no thanks," he said. "Why would I talk about it with you? I don't even know your name."

His off-putting attitude did little to dent Rose's reckless feeling. A slow dance had just started playing. "Want to dance?" she offered.

The boy's mouth began to form an "n", but then he stopped himself and, after a pause, answered, "Okay. Why not?"

Scorpius had had every intention of turning down the red-headed girl's offer, but somehow, the word "okay" had slipped out of his mouth and now the girl was dragging him onto the dance floor. Reluctant was too mild a word for his feelings now. He had never really danced for real before. But what could he do? He'd said "okay".

After finding an open spot where they could dance without killing the people nearest them, the girl clasped his hand, putting her free hand on his shoulder. Feeling far beyond awkward, he put his hand on her waist. Now it was time to start dancing, and he realized that he didn't know how to go about it. He sneaked a peak at the feet of another couple who seemed to know what they were doing and tried desperately to mimic them, to at least partial success. He felt his face growing a bit warm. _A Malfoy doesn't blush, _he reminded himself firmly, desperately visualizing cold things. After a few seconds of watching and following the other couple, he had rather got the hang of keeping track of them, and felt he was doing rather well. He would even go so far as to call what he was doing dancing. In fact, a few seconds after that, the steps were ingrained in his muscle memory, and he was able to look up at his dance partner.

She grinned at him. "You're a good dancer," she told him. "Who taught you?"

Feeling cocky from the compliment, Scorpius answered, "Those people next to us, just now."

The girl bent her head forward as she laughed, allowing her hair to fall forward into her face. Her hair had a very natural look, as if it had only been washed and brushed, nothing more. It was the exact opposite of Cara's silky, shaped locks, but it was a good look for her.

The red-headed girl looked back up. She took her hand off his shoulder to brush hair out of her eyes. "You picked it up fast."

"I guess so." By now, Scorpius was feeling very proud of his abilities. He would definitely say he was leading the dance, as was appropriate for the male half of a dance partnership.

After a brief pause, the girl got a look on her face as if wondering whether she should say something. "So…" she began tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"What were you so… unhappy about a minute ago?"

"That's a bit of a personal question," said Scorpius, more out of surprise than anything else.

The girl blushed. "Sorry. My mom always says I have my dad's sense of tact."

"Well, anyway, I was upset because of, well… nothing really. Something silly." Funny, he really believed that now.

The girl seemed to be a very smiley sort of person. She had a small grin on her face for most of the dance. After a while, Scorpius realized that he was smiling too. He was happy for the first time all day. Who would have thought it would be an invitation to dance from a girl whose name he didn't know to break him out of his moodiness?

"Rose! Rose!" called a voice that seemed a mile away. With all the voices calling and shouting in the room, Scorpius wouldn't have paid this voiced in particular any notice, except that the red-haired girl reacted to it.

The girl stepped back from Scorpius. "That's my cousin calling," she explained, her voice tinged with regret.

"Your cousin?"

"Yeah, James Potter. He's my cousin." With that, the girl – Rose – trotted off in the direction of the voice.

Scorpius stood there for a moment, lost in a slowly dawning thought. James' father – the famous Harry Potter – had no brothers or sisters. That meant that Rose was related to him on his mother's side. James' mother was a Weasely.

Rose was a Weasley. Scorpius had danced with a Weasley. One of his father's archenemies.

Scorpius tried to dismiss it. One dance didn't mean anything. He may as well forget about it.

He already knew he wouldn't forget.

xxxx

At midnight, the party finally ended. Rose had been dwelling on the strange boy she'd danced with for the past two and a half hours, and she still couldn't keep her mind off him.

Beside her, Lily was chattering endlessly. "…and of course that was awkward for everyone. Hey, did you see what Louie Matthews did with that yellow acid pop? Hi-LARIOUS."

"Who's Louie Matthews?" asked Rose.

"You know! Louie Matthews! The Hufflepuff!"

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

"Blonde! Third or fourth year, I think."

"Hmm… no, I don't know him."

Lily looked outraged. "There are less than 300 students at this school, and you don't even know them all?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Oh, like you know everyone's name."

"I do!"

Rose smirked. "Prove it."

"Okay, you see all those people going out the portrait hole?"

"Yeah."

"Let's see… Davies, MacMillan, Johnson, Smith, Mason…"

Lily rattled off at least fifteen names nonstop, and Rose knew she wasn't making them up because she recognized a few of the students herself. "I'm impressed," said Rose when there was a moment of peace at the portrait hole.

"Thanks," said Lily. "Oh, here come some more. Flint, Scamander, Scamander, Malfoy-"

"What was that last one?"

"Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy. Hey, isn't he a Slytherin? Jaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmeessss!"

Lily wandered off to find her elder brother, leaving Rose to stare as the pale boy she'd danced with disappeared from view.

_That was Scorpius Malfoy?_

**UPDATE (11/7/11): Okay, so I'm not quite ready to write a novel yet. My own plot, my own characters… o;iijnrjnbgjrngjgnns. I got stuck after 910 words. It's back to fanfiction for me. Just give me a few days and I'll have the next chapter ready. It will be sooner if I get just ONE review. Come on, guys‼**


	4. A Rose by Any Other Name

**A/N: I finally did get a review, so here's the next chapter, as promised. You know, writing this makes me think of the movie Gnomeo and Juliet. I think it was a well done parody, but was I the only one who paused the movie right after everything exploded and yelled, "THE END"?**

A Rose by Any Other Name

xxxxxxx

As they snuck back to their dormitories, the Slytherins whispered excitedly among themselves.

"That was great!"

"I know!"

"I think Albus Potter was onto us though…"

"Shh!" said Merric. "Do you want to get caught out of bed after hours?"

"After that distraction Potter set off in the Astronomy tower, no one will be patrolling down here for fifteen minutes at least," one of his classmates pointed out.

"True. But better safe than sorry. What if Peeves finds us?"

"James bribed Peeves to not rat his guests out."

"Yeah, but… let's just concentrate on getting back without a detention, okay? No plan is perfect, right Scorp- Scorpius?"

In their momentary confusion, the others turned to look at Scorpius and soon realized the problem: Scorpius was nowhere to be seen.

"Scorpius?" Merric hissed, looking around wildly, as if Scorpius was only hiding in the shadows and would come out at the sound of his name.

"SCORPIUS!" one girl yelled. Her voice echoed down the corridor, begging a stray teacher to find them. There was no response.

"He's probably off trying to make another move on _Cara_," Merric grumbled.

"Cara Mason?" someone asked curiously.

Oops. "Um, never mind," said Merric.

"Well, we shouldn't risk being caught out of bed just to find Scorpius, right Merric?"

"I'll say," Merric agreed. Normally he'd put his friends first, but this was ridiculous. "That idiot better not be lost because I'm going to bed."

The others concurred and they all headed back to their dormitories.

xxxx

The Gryffindor common room was in disarray. Tables were overturned and drawers emptied. The most prominent model of chaos was James Potter himself, who was pacing and kicking things, pulling desperately at his hair.

"WHERE THE BLOODY HADES IS IT‼"

"I'm sure we'll find it somewhere," Lily said helpfully.

"SHUT IT LIL."

"The Slytherins took it, I'm telling you, they must have!" Albus shouted.

"_SHUT YOUR BLOODY CAKE HOLE ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER. _Dad's going to KILL me." James bit at his knuckles as if to keep himself from screaming in agony.

Rose rolled her eyes unsympathetically. "It's your one fault for showing it off, James!"

"THANK YOU, ROSE," James screamed. "THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL."

"Well, if it really is gone, panicking won't help. Your dad can take it out of your allowance."

"You do know it's literally priceless, right?"

"Yes."

"That it's one of a kind?"

"Yes."

"That it's one of the three Deathly Hallows from the Tale of the Three Brothers?"

"Yes. That you were showing it off to the whole school and then left it on the chair to be stolen? Yes."

James was spared from coming up with a retort when Hugo came down the stairs in his pajamas. "Are you all still awake?" he asked. And then, "Woah. What happened here?"

"James can't find his invisibility cloak," Lily explained.

Hugo looked sheepish. "Oh. That."

James looked up with a mixture of burning fury and profound relief on his face. "_You took it?_"

Hugo grinned. "Nah. Just kidding."

James' face fell. "YOU LITTLE BRAT‼" he yelled, running at Hugo with his fists raised. Hugo screamed while still grinning at his own joke and ran back to his bed.

James turned away from the stairs to the boys' dormitories with his head hanging. "Dad's going to bury me alive."

"He might not," Lily suggested reassuringly.

"He will. He'll take me back to Godric's Hollow and bury me next to Ignotus Peverell. Peverell's grave will say "Here lies the man who invented the perfect invisibility cloak" and mine will say "And here lies the kid who lost it. He'll probably be dead down there by the time you read this."

Rose made the mistake at laughing at that. James shot flaming poison darts at her with his gaze.

"I know what this is," James said. "It's a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. I ate too many chocolate frogs at my party and passed out from sugar overdose. I'll go up to bed and when I wake up I'll be in the hospital wing and you'll all be standing over me shaking your heads and going, 'What did he eat all that candy for?'"

"Look, mate, it's not a dream, otherwise I would just be a figment of your imagination," Albus explained.

"Of course I'm just dreaming that you're saying that," James concluded happily. "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to 'sleep', so I can get out of this nightmare." He plodded off to bed before any of them could contradict him.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Typical James." He headed toward the staircase as well, then looked back and added as an afterthought, "Typical Slytherins too, to steal the thing."

Lily and Rose, the last two people in the common room, looked at each other.

"I'm going to bed, I guess," said Lily. "It's real late."

"Yeah," said Rose. "Me too."

But Rose didn't go up to bed. She watched Lily retreat up the girls' stairs to her room, and then turned around and went out the portrait hole.

"Where are you going, dear?" asked the Fat Lady.

"Oh, nowhere," said Rose, sitting down against a wall. "Just getting some fresh air."

"I didn't realize the air in the hallway is fresher."

"Well, about three quarters of the school was all crammed into the Common Room just a while ago, so the air in there has kind of an overly-breathed feel to it."

"I see."

There was a period of silence. Rose sighed but said nothing.

"I hope you don't get in trouble being out in the middle of the night and all," said the Fat Lady.

"I'll say I couldn't remember the password."

"Okay then. I can go along with that, but only because I like you."

"Thanks, Fat Lady." Something occurred to Rose. "Hey, does it bother you that you're called the Fat Lady?"

The Fat Lady considered this. "No. Not really. We paintings don't have the same sort of self-consciousness as you living people. I know everything about me is an intentional artistic touch. But that's a very thoughtful question. I don't think anyone has ever asked me that before, actually."

"Oh, really?"

"Really. But enough niceties. Let's get to the juicy part."

"What 'juicy part'?"

"Oh, please. I've seen thousands of teenagers going about their business. I know when someone has something on their mind."

"But why do you care?"

"What else is there to do as a painting but gossip?"

"If you're going to gossip about me, then why should I confide in you?" Rose cried.

"Don't you worry your lovely little head about that, dear, what's said among the paintings stays with the paintings. We don't spread rumors to the student body."

Rose considered this.

"Really, Rose, I can tell you have something to get off your chest. So what is it? A rule you broke? A big secret you're not allowed to tell anyone? A boy, perchance? A-ha! So it is a boy!"

Rose flushed at the fact that the Fat Lady could read her so easily. "Okay, yes."

"Tell me! Tell me everything! Gossip among portraits is a closed system, remember."

"Well, so at the party-"

"Ah, parties! The chaotic factor in social life! Go on!"

"At the party, there was this guy, and well, I didn't know _exactly_ who he was, but I dunno, he was kinda cute… anyway, we ended up sharing a dance and, erm…"

"And you fell in love!" The Fat Lady exclaimed.

"Well, I wouldn't say… that's a bit… I… guess I did."

The Fat Lady squealed. "How exciting! When's the wedding?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I doubt my father would approve."

"You mean he won't let you have a boyfriend?"

"Sure he will… as long as it's not Scorpius Malfoy."

The Fat Lady gasped loudly. "You fell in love with a Malfoy!"

"_A Malfoy_! That's all he is to us. Just a Malfoy! Our mortal enemies! The Malfoys! We hate them all!" Rose brought her knees up to her chest. "Is that all he is to them? A name? Why does he have to be forbidden to me just because of his name? A name isn't even a tangible thing. It doesn't define you! Take Professor Longbottom – his bottom isn't even that long! And if my name was Shirley or Maxine, I'd still be me, right? And if Scorpius Malfoy was, say, "Carter McParkerjohnson" he'd still be the boy who…"

"The boy you fell in love with!" the Fat Lady exclaimed jubilantly.

"Yeah. His name doesn't matter. It's kind of a weird name, to tell the truth. It's not as important as his hair, or his hands, or his eyes-"

"Or his heart!" crowed the Fat Lady. "That's what's important! What's in his heart!"

"Yeah. It seems… it seems that if he just got his name changed – a simple legal affair – then suddenly I'd be allowed to like him. How does that make sense?"

"I'd gladly get a name change if it came to that," came a voice from the darkness.

Rose nearly jumped out of her own epidermis. "Who's there?" she cried.

"Me."

"Is that Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Not if you don't want me to be."

"Malfoy! That IS you! How did you get here?" Rose looked around wildly. "Where are you?" She whipped her head around to her left – no Malfoy – and her right – no Malfoy – and her left again – and there stood Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy with a silvery cloak in one hand. Rose jumped and screamed.

"I think your cousin will be wanting this back," Scorpius said, handing her the cloak. "And tell him to keep better track of it. Someday it might get stolen."

Rose gaped at him.

Scorpius smiled. "The inside of your mouth is very pretty."

Rose blushed and closed her mouth. Then she opened it again to angrily demand, "Were you listening to me talking with the Fat Lady?"

"Of course."

"Creep."

"I undoubtedly am."

Rose stood up. "You should get going," she said coolly. "You wouldn't want to get caught out of bed."

"I'd rather get caught than not get to see you at all."

"Wait… what?"

Scorpius looked at his feet. "I… I… I like you, okay?"

"Well… I like you too."

"I gathered as much."

The Fat Lady smiled widely at them. "I'll leave you two alone now, shall I?" she asked before waltzing cheerily out of her frame.

There was a pause in which neither of them said anything. "So…" said Scorpius, "Is this the part where we make out?"

Rose stifled a giggle in the back of her hand.

There was another short period of silence. "But we can't really date, can we?" Rose said finally.

"Because of our parents, you mean?"

"Yeah," said Rose. She paused a moment before continuing, "My dad always said to me, 'You can date anyone you'd like except that Malfoy boy.' I always thought it was a silly rule, but it never really mattered to me. I thought, hey, the chances that I'll end up liking him and he'll end up liking me are astronomical."

"Well, my dad always said that the chances of any Weasley ever having less than two kids or having enough money to comfortably support more than one kid were astronomical."

"That's not a very nice thing to say."

"I bet your parents say worse things about my family."

Rose smiled reminiscently. "True."

There was once again a reflective pause.

"We should date secretly," said Scorpius.

"Ooh. Sounds secretive."

"It will be. Very secretive."

"Count me in."

Scorpius grinned. "We can meet – secretly, of course – in the empty classroom across from the statue of Uric the Oddball."

"Oh, I know that statue. It's a very nice statue. A _secretive_ statue."

"We can meet – secretly – right after dinner."

"Sounds secret."

"Should we kiss now?"

Rose couldn't help but say, "Would it be a secret kiss?"

"You know it would be."

"Alright then."

**A/N: Yeah, that's the first thing you've got to know about me: the next chapter will not begin with them kissing. Get over it. Characters: "Let's make out now!" Me: "CUT! THAT'S A WRAP!" Characters: "But we didn't get to make ou –" Me: "WHO'S THE DIRECTOR HERE?" I'm sure your imagination can make a better kissing scene then a gazillion paragraphs about how his mouth has a mysteriously delicious taste even though every mouth I've ever known smelt like yuck and his abs are so rock-hard and tongues! And fireworks and shared saliva!**

**If you are following this story and want another chapter soon – and you may not get a new chapter in this millennium if you do not do this – this is what you must do: 1) Click the "Submit a Review" link. Do not fear. It does not contain a virus. 2) A box for typing will pop up. Type in "Hello, please write another chapter as I am following your story" or "NU CAHPTER PLS‼" or "hi" or "lol" or "2" or "Yes I think Gnomeo and Juliet should have ended there too" or "TO PIGFARTS‼ RUMBLEROAR‼" or any other combination of characters and spaces. 3) Click "submit". It is the big button at the bottom of the mini window! NO WAIT NOT THAT ONE! *internet will self-destruct in 5. 4. 3. 2…***


	5. They Are But Beggars

They Are But Beggars That Can Count Their Worth

xxxxxxx

"Are my eyebrows still pink?" Rose asked as she reached for the pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"Yes," James affirmed.

Rose sighed. "That's the last time I'm your partner for Charms practice, Albus."

Albus shrugged. "You always say that, and we always end up working together again."

James took his wand out of his pocket. "Here, Rose." He tapped her eyebrows with his wand. "That's better."

Rose rolled her eyes as far up as possible to see if her eyebrows were back to normal. It didn't work. She refrained from asking the idiotic question, "Did you fix them?", electing instead to assume that he had.

"Hey, Rose!" said Hugo. When she didn't answer right away, he began his annoying habit of repeating her name over and over. "Rose! Rose! Rose! R-"

"WHAT?"

"Are we going to finish our Exploding Snap tournament after dinner?"

Rose shook her head. "Sorry, Hugo, I have to, um… study."

"Study, study, study. Blah, blah blah," Hugo mumbled, turning back to his stew. "That's all she ever does."

"Hey, can I study with you, Rose?" Albus asked. "I was hoping you could help me with that Transfiguration essay-"

"Uh, no, sorry Albus," Rose said quickly, her mind racing, "I, er, have a really important test coming up and I really have to concentrate so… I, um, don't have time to help you."

"Really? Which subject?"

"Ah… Ancient Runes. I have to go now. Lots of studying to do! Bye!"

"But-" Albus began as Rose ran out of the Great Hall.

xxxx

"Where did you run off to last night, Scorp?" Merric asked. "I was going to ask last night when you got in, but you went straight to sleep, and then… well, I didn't remember again until now."

"Then it can't be that important to you, if you forgot. So I suppose I may as well not tell you."

"Please tell me!"

Scorpius began filling his mouth with stew.

"Oh, I see what's going on."

Scorpius quickly swallowed and responded, "Enlighten me, Merric. What, exactly, is going on?"

"You don't want to tell me where you were last night."

"Maybe I don't."

"Ooh! Why not?"

"Oh, I was only conspiring with a mass murderer is all. We were planning to kill you in your sleep tonight. Problem is, I'm not allowed to tell you."

"Ah! But you just did tell me."

"Merric. I was joking," said Scorpius. Then, in a quieter voice, "He's actually a serial killer."

Merric grinned. "See, that's the Scorpius I know and love (in a platonic way). Where were you yesterday?"

"Right here, of course."

"Yeah, but you weren't _you_. You were all moaning and groaning and stupid but now- oh-HO!"

"What are you oh-hoing about?"

Merric leaned closer to Scorpius, so that only he could hear what he was saying. "I know what you were doing last night! I know what happened!"

"And what's that?"

"Cara un-rejected you!"

Scorpius snorted. "Fat chance."

"Oh no? Then perhaps you have a new girlfriend? Yes! That's it, isn't it!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Okay, that's enough. I have to go now. I'll see you later."

"Where are you going?"

Scorpius stood up to leave.

"Hey!" Merric exclaimed. "You're going to wherever you went last night, aren't you?"

"That's right! The serial killer and I are going to plan your demise! I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you."

xxxx

Scorpius crept slowly to the stature of Uric the Oddball. Somehow, he was much more nervous now than he was on his way to the party to night before.

"Psst!"

Scorpius jumped several inches off the ground and looked around wildly.

Rose was peeking out of the empty classroom, snickering silently.

Scorpius pouted. "You scared me."

"So I noticed. Now come in before anyone sees us."

Scorpius quickly complied.

_Half an hour later (A/N: Wimped out again!)_

"We should go back," Rose whispered, "Before they start to wonder where we've gone."

"Yeah, probably," Scorpius reluctantly agreed. "But when can we meet again?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Same time?"

Rose looked thoughtful for a moment. "It might be better to meet at varied times, actually… but I have extra classes until four."

"Oh… I have Quidditch practice most evenings from four to four-thirty."

"At four-thirty I have Alchemy Club."

Scorpius shrugged. "After dinner it is, then."

Rose nodded. "See you then."

After a quick goodbye kiss, they snuck out of the classroom and set off in opposite directions.

**A/N: I'm sorry it took so long! And it's real short, I know. Please forgive me! I'll update again soon!**


	6. Love is My Sin

**A/N: Yeah, it's been like a month. More than a month. I know. I also know that you don't visit to read lengthy apologies. So, without further ado…**

Love is My Sin, And Thy Dear Virtue Hate

XXXXXXX

Scorpius hummed to himself as he strolled down the hallway. There was a spring in his step. When there's a spring in your step, there's not much you can do about it, however dorky and clichéd said spring might be.

A projectile in the shape of a Hogwarts student came hurtling down the hallway toward Scorpius. "Scorpius! Scorpius!" Merric called out, "I've been looking everywhere for you!" He dug his heels into the floor, coming skidding to a stop inches from his blonde-headed friend.

"Well," Scorpius said cheerily, "You've found me!" Luckily, Scorpius had stopped walking, so Merric couldn't see his un-Slytherinly step spring.

"Haven't you heard?" Merric asked between desperate gasps for air.

Scorpius answered his question with a question of his own: "Are you okay?"

"Oh- yeah- I'm- okay- just- been- running- is- all."

Scorpius considered this for a few seconds. "...you should probably work out more," he finally stated.

"It- kind- of- sucks- how- this- school- only- offers- one- sport- and- the- sport- in- question- involves- sitting- on- your- butt- and- moving- around- with- magic," panted Merric. "And- even- if- it- increased- athletic- ability- there's- no- Junior- Varsity- team- so- only- the- best- can- play- anyway."

"True. That sucks eggs. Anyway, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Merric took a big gulp of air. "Well, Albus Potter," pant, "is," pant, "looking for you. Something," pant, "about a duel."

Scorpius frowned. "Albus Potter wants to challenge me to a duel?" _The reason that I have to love him doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting,_ he thought. _Whoa. Where did that thought come from?_ As a result of his secret meeting with Rose just minutes before, Scorpius felt slightly lighter, as if on the moon or attached to 112 balloons, and had no general animosity toward the Potter/Weasley family. "Frankly, Merric, a duel isn't my cup of tea at the moment. Can't we all just finish our homework and go to bed? I have plenty of sleep to catch up on."

Merric, who had regained his breath during Scorpius' paragraph of introspection, snorted and began pulling Scorpius along by the arm. "Don't be silly, Scorp, you can't pass up this opportunity! You're the best dueler in the school!"

"That's a lie, mate. Jimmy Biola and Polly Jigger are both better than me, among others."

"Thanks for shooting down my attempt at shameful coercing flattery," Merric snapped sarcastically.

Scorpius was still feeling rather daydreamy and wimpy, so Merric had no trouble tugging him along until they ran into none other than…

…you guessed it. Louie Matthews! Then, a minute later, they found Albus.

Behind Albus was a crowd of about fifty students, looking eager in a barbaric-side-of-human-nature sort of way.

"Hey, Scorpion-boy!" Albus jeered. Some of the kids behind him laughed.

Scorpius looked at him blankly. "Was that supposed to be an insult? I kind of like it. Scorpion-boy! Yeah! I might prefer 'boy' to be replaced with… I dunno… 'guy' or even 'man', though I suppose 'man' is asking a bit mu-"

"SHUT IT!" Albus roared.

Sensing tension, Scorpius refrained from asking "Shut what?"

Albus put his hands on his hips. In Scorpius' humble opinion, this made him look like a sassy pre-teen girl. Scorpius elected not to voice this opinion. "I saw you last night, Scorpius," Albus said. "At the party. The NO SLYTHERINS ALLOWED party. Perhaps you remember?"

"Gee, I dunno." Scorpius shrugged. "I went to a lot of parties last night. It's all kind of a blur."

"Don't you get sarcastic with me, ScorpiPUS!"

Scorpius made a great show of trying not to laugh at this new nickname.

"Fine! How about DORKius!"

Scorpius put on a thoughtful face. He turned to his friend. "What do you think, Merric? Doesn't really rhyme, but it's simple… classic… straightforward… all in all I'd say, though it's not very clever, it gets-"

"AS I WAS SAYING," Albus shouted, interrupting Scorpius for the second time in the past minute, "Since I saw you INFILTRATING our party, I am DUTY BOUND to duel you to the death!"

James Potter spoke up from the on-looking crowd. "You really don't have to-"

"DUTY BOUND!" Albus yelled over his brother's protests. _That boy really needs to learn some manners_, thought Scorpius. _It's so rude to interrupt people like that_.

Albus glared heavily at the blonde. "Draw your wand… unless you're chicken! Poc boc boc!"

Scorpius felt his face growing red. _Nobody calls Scorpius Malfoy a chicken_. Just as he was about to whip his wand from his back pocket (burnt buttocks schmurnt schmuttocks), something caught his eye. Rose stood near Albus, eyes full of fearful wideness. The look on her face said it all: _I don't want either of them to be defeated! Who do I root for?_ Scorpius shook his head. He couldn't cause his true love such internal conflict. And he certainly couldn't hurt someone he knew was close to her. Scorpius looked Albus in the eye. The burning fire of his love allowed him to keep his cool. (That sentence was both mushy and counterintuitive, but aren't those two adjectives the very things to describe love itself?) "I'm not going to fight you, Albus Potter," Scorpius said steadily. "Would you jinx a defenseless opponent?"

"Are you really going to stand there and be a coward?" Albus asked smugly. "Are you just going to back out and disgrace the name of Malfoy? Oh wait – never mind, that's been done already." The crowd exploded with mean-spirited laughter and cheers.

Scorpius' hands started to shake. _Can't let myself get angry,_ he told himself._ Don't fight like Harry Potter, Dad always said. _"The reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting! Villain I am none!" he cried defensively. "I do protest I never injured thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise, till thou shalt know the reason of my love."

"What does that even mean?" asked a bewildered Albus.

Scorpius shrugged. "I dunno. It just came to me."

Out of the blue, Merric stepped in front of Scorpius. "Hey, Albus!" he shouted. "Guess whose idea it was to crash your party in the first place!"

"Don't Merric," Scorpius pleaded. "Don't bother. Let the Gryffindors live up to their reputation as hotheaded fools. There's no need to encourage them."

"What's hotheaded about a nice gentlemanly battle to the death?" Merric asked sagely.

Albus looked a bit confused (but after all, what else can you expect from a Gryffindor?).

"Come on Albus," Merric reasoned. "These innocent bystanders came all this way to see a duel. Let's give them one."

Albus considered. "Alright then," he finally conceded, drawing his wand.

"We start by bowing."

"I KNOW how we start!"

Merric turned to Scorpius. "You might want to back up a bit there, Scorp."

Scorpius gave the two foes the famous Malfoy look-of-contempt as he stepped out of the way.

Albus and Merric bowed respectfully, and immediately began shooting jinxes, hexes, and other forms of spiteful spellry.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!"

"Furnunculus!"

"Incendio!"

"Auguamenti!"

The duel was so quick-paced that it was a bit hard to follow. Albus and Merric were about equally matched, which made for an exciting battle.

"See, Scorpius!" Merric cried from amidst the shooting lights and bangs, "This isn't so bad!"

Albus took advantage of Merric's moment of distraction and yelled, "Stupefy!"

Luckily for Merric, the spell missed. Merric retaliated with a stunner of his own, and Albus had to throw himself to the ground to avoid it.

As the duel continued, Merric seemed to be getting the upper hand, despite the majority of the crowd cheering for Albus.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" an aggravated Albus yelled. Though his past ten spells had missed, this one somehow hit its target spot on.

Merric flew backwards down the corridor and through an open classroom door. There was a loud crash.

"Nice, Albus!" someone yelled. There was a general uproar of approval. Everyone waited for Merric to reemerge. Ten seconds later, he hadn't made an appearance.

Scorpius ran into the classroom. In the corner was a pile of fallen shelves and knickknacks, with Merric's leg sticking out. Scorpius swore loudly. He used a levitating charm to unearth his friend.

By that point a few of the onlookers had wandered in to see what the matter was. "Merlin's beard," someone said.

"I'll go get help," said another.

Scorpius knelt down next to Merric. Luckily, he seemed to be breathing. But there was a trickle of blood near his hairline. "Ouch!" Scorpius muttered. "That's not good." The anger that had alluded him for most of the evening started to pump through his veins. "I _knew_ this was a bad idea," he growled.

Scorpius stood up suddenly and marched back out to where everyone else was waiting. "ALBUS POTTER!" he shouted forcefully. "You bloody idiot with your stupid duels and honor and overdone jinxes! What's you problem? Why couldn't you just let it go? SECTUMSEMPRA!"

In a flash of poetic justice which no one present got, Albus Potter crumpled to the ground, bleeding profusely.

BAD: Half the school saw Scorpius Malfoy brutally maul someone.

SLIGHTLY WORSE: Half the school looked up at Scorpius with a mixture of accusation and terror.

SLIGHTLY WORSE: A girl let out a blood-curdling scream.

SLIGHTLY WORSE: It was Rose.

**A/N: Yeah. I know it's weird. It's 3 in the morning okay? I might revise this chapter later if it doesn't make sense to y'all. Review!**


	7. Tis Better to Be Vile

Tis Better To Be Vile Than Vile Esteemed

XXXXXXX

Scorpius wanted to take off running and never look back. He wanted to hide himself away where no one would ever find him. But he couldn't tear himself away. It was as if he had turned to stone. He stood and stared, his wand hanging loosely in his relaxed fist.

Albus lay on his back, moaning feebly and bleeding from his shoulder, where the spell had hit him. Rose knelt next to him, fretfully biting at her fingernails and obviously trying hard not to glance up at Scorpius. James knelt and examined his brother's wounds, his face etched with worry. Everyone else was looking at Scorpius with gaze that was 20% angry, 10% frightened, and 100% accusing.

Finally, heads began to turn away as footsteps were sounding in the corridor. The boy who had gone for help earlier was returning, with Headmistress McGonagall limping behind him. "Hurry, Professor!" he called. "He's down here!"

"Patience, patience," the old woman grumbled. "I'm not as young as I used to be."

The boy snorted. "Yeah, well I'm not as young as I used to be either, but I can go plenty fast. Your problem isn't that you're not as young as you used to be. Your problem is that you're just plain old." The boy approached the ring of onlookers. "Hey, what are you guys looking at?" he asked. "What happened?"

The students shifted around to let McGonagall through. When she saw Albus on the ground, she gasped. "Who did this?"

Scorpius winced as a multitude of index fingers swung up to point at him.

"Um," the messenger boy piped up feebly, "There's another bloke hurt in that classroom down there. This happened while I was fetching you."

The headmistress flicked her wand, and Merric's limp form floated gently out of the classroom and down into the corridor. McGonagall glanced back and forth between the two injured students. Her eyes narrowed. "What happened?" she simply asked.

A little first-year girl piped up eagerly, "Albus challenged… Scorpius? Is that his name?"

"I think it's Scorpicis," said another.

"Okay, Scorpicis then," the first girl said. "Anyway Scorpicis was too chicken, so that other guy took his place, and then Albus beat the the other guy, so Scorpicis took out his wand and," her voice heightened with fright, "KILLED ALBUS!"

Scorpius didn't bother to protest any part of this story. He felt numb, and anyway didn't know if he was capable of speech at the moment.

"It was a full-out Gryffindor versus Slytherin battle!" some other kid exclaimed.

McGonagall's eyes narrowed. Scorpius could hear her voice in his head, scolding the students in the Great Hall. _"If I see any more Gryffindor versus Slytherin duels, all participants will get detention every afternoon and evening for the next two months!"_ This was odd, seeing as how Scorpius hadn't even heard her make this announcement. He supposed it was just his active imagination, supplying memories of events he had only heard about. "Scorpius Malfoy," the headmistress said dangerously, "What do you have to say for yourself? Are these things true?"

Scorpius opened his mouth. "More or less." The words came out hoarse and squeaky.

"I assume you heard what the consequence is for such behavior?"

Thankful for a question he could answer silently, Scorpius nodded.

"Detention every afternoon and evening for two months?"

Scorpius nodded.

"I'll see you in my office at three o'clock tomorrow, then."

Scorpius nodded.

"But what about Albus? He should get detention too," nobody bothered to point out. Scorpius would have said something, but his throat felt dry. He felt something almost pricking his eyes, and he blinked. Slowly, looking at nobody, his made his way through the crowd, down the corridor, down the stairs… not until he was out of sight of everyone did he allow himself to run.

_I just lost all my free time. How am I ever going to see Rose now?_ The moment he thought it, he laughed humorlessly at himself. _Not that it matters. It's not like you're ever going to talk to her again, _he told himself. _Did you see the look on her face? It's not like she's ever going to want to see you for as long as you live._ Scorpius sprinted through the dungeons. His throat felt sticky and his eyes stung.

XXXXXXX

**A/N: Oh, isn't this going wonderful! I'm following the plot of Romeo and Juliet so well, don't you think? I can't wait for the next chapter! Let's see what's next! *pulls out script*Okay! So, this says, next up is… s... sex and… then suicide. Ummmmmmmmmmmmm. Heh. You know this story is so overdone! *throws out script*. Hey hey hey! Check out this! Taylor Swift lyrics! Who doesn't love Taylor Swift? Wait. That was a rhetorical question. Seriously. Enough with the list! I get it! There's a lot of people! Ahem. So. Taylor Swift is like a modern day Shakespeare right? Right? Right? WILL SOMEBODY SAY RIGHT? Come on, play along! You know, I don't care what you guys think. My prologue explicitly stated that Taylor Swift would be involved. You knew what you were getting into. From this point forward, you are reading a songfic. :D **


	8. Love Story

Lyrics (for your reference convenience)

We were both young, when I first saw you.  
>I close my eyes and the flashback starts-<br>I'm standing there,

On a balcony in summer air.

See the lights; see the party, the ball gowns.  
>See you make your way through the crowd<p>

And say hello

Little did I know

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles  
>And my daddy said "stay away from Juliet"<br>And I was crying on the staircase  
>begging you, "Please don't go"<br>And I said

Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.  
>I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run.<br>You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess,  
>It's a love story, baby, just say yes.<p>

So I sneak out to the garden to see you.  
>We keep quiet, because we're dead if they knew<br>So close your eyes

Escape this town for a little while.

Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter,  
>And my daddy said "stay away from Juliet"<br>but you were everything to me  
>I was begging you, "Please don't go"<br>And I said

Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.  
>I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run.<br>You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess.  
>It's a love story, baby, just say yes<p>

Romeo save me, they're trying to tell me how to feel.  
>This love is difficult, but it's real.<br>Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess.  
>It's a love story, baby, just say yes.<p>

I got tired of waiting.  
>Wondering if you were ever coming around.<br>My faith in you was fading  
>When I met you on the outskirts of town.<br>And I said

Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone.  
>I keep waiting for you but you never come.<br>Is this in my head, I don't know what to think  
>He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said<p>

Marry me Juliet, you'll never have to be alone.  
>I love you, and that's all I really know.<br>I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress  
>It's a love story, baby just say yes<p> 


	9. They Stumble That Run Fast

**A/N: That's right! I 'twasn't kidding about the songfic! And I'm seriously misusing the word 'tis! Good news: I got all the lyricy parts done with in the last chapter, and now you can read on without constant interruptions by the words of Tay-Swizzle. Music haters, you can uncover your ears.**

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Plot belongs to ****Shakespeare ****Taylor Swift.**

They Stumble that Run Fast

XXXXXXX

"Yeah, I'm okay," Albus groaned with an exaggerated grimace. "I just need to rest it a little, is all."

"You're so brave," a first year whispered in awe.

"Did it hurt?" Hugo blurted.

"Oh, yeah, a lot. But nothing I'm not used to."

Rose found herself rolling her eyes. Ever since her cousin had gotten back from the hospital wing, his injury had been the talk of the entire Gryffindor house, and Albus was milking it for all it was worth.

"I just can't believe that Scorpius guy!" Lily cried in burst of intense dramatic irony. "Who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know, Lil'," Albus said with a shrug. After wincing from the supposed "pain" caused by shrugging, he continued, "Those Slytherins are just a messed up bunch."

Rose mumbled something.

"What's that Rose?" Albus asked.

Rose stood up from her seat by the fireplace. "YOU HAD IT COMING TO YOU!" she shouted, throwing a decorative pillow at her cousin. With that, she turned and stormed across the common room and up the stairs.

When she got to her dormitory, Rose threw herself down on her bed and started to cry for no reason.

A few minutes later, Lily tiptoed into the room and sat on the foot of Rose's bed. "Rose? Are you okay?"

"No."

"What's the matter?"

Rose buried her face in her pillow.

Lily sighed. "I guess you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

"I'm dating Scorpius Malfoy!"

Lily smirked. "Reverse psychology. Works every time." She paused in horror as the meaning of Rose's words hit her. "SCORPIUS MALFOY? SINCE WHEN?"

"Since last night," Rose said into her pillow.

Lily jumped up. "I'm telling your dad!"

"Fine. Do."

Lily ran out of the room.

"He has detention every day for the next month," Rose told nobody. "How will I ever get to see him now?"

In the distance, Rose heard Lily jumping the last few steps on the staircase and run into the common room. Then, for a moment, she didn't hear anything.

The curtains rustled, drawing Rose's attention to the fact that the window was open. She quickly stood, closed the window, and fell back onto her bed. She didn't want to feel connected to the outside world right now.

Rose closed her eyes and remembered the night she had fallen in love with Scorpius Malfoy – had it only been last night? It seemed so long ago. She felt older now, and not in a good way.

xxxx

Scorpius' breathe came in short bursts as he tore down the hallway. A passing ghost said something to him, but he wasn't listening.

He was about to turn into the dungeons, but he stopped himself. He couldn't go to his dormitory. They would expect him to go there. They would find him there.

Scorpius didn't want anyone to find him. Not yet.

Back up the stairs he ran, taking a right on the second story, flinging open a door to a deserted corridor and running down it, coming to an intersection, taking a right, then a left. He tried to open a door, but it was just a wall pretending, so he ran on. It was entirely possible to get lost in this castle. But Scorpius didn't let that stop him. He wouldn't mind being lost for a little while.

All too soon, Scorpius ran out of breathe. Cursing the nonexistent Hogwarts athletic program, he slammed his back against a wall and slid to the floor. He was not to know that sitting directly after intense physical activity is terrible for one's cardiovascular health.

Scorpius lowered his head and dug into his temples with his knees. He wanted to stop thinking about the mess he'd caused, but he couldn't. It was like a car wreck you can't tear your eyes away from. He hadn't felt such self-loathing since, well, yesterday morning.

Moisture pooled in his eyes, occasionally overflowing and sliding down his face, but he wasn't crying. A Malfoy doesn't cry.

xxxx

The two didn't see each other again until the next morning on the way to breakfast.

Scorpius was plodding down the hallway, feeling miserable, when a hand grabbed him by the shoulder. He turned around. It was Rose.

"Scorpius! Can I talk to you for a second?"

He nodded weakly and followed her into a deserted classroom.

As soon as they were alone, he began – "Look, I'm really sorry about your cousin, I didn't mean-"

"It's okay, Scorpius. I forgive you. He had it coming to him."

"Really?"

"Really." She sighed. "My only issue with it is that now, with all your detentions, we won't get a chance to see each other. Well, that and Albus' constant complaining-slash-bragging."

"We can always um, um…" Scorpius racked his brain to figure out what part of the day they had left to them. "Sneak out at night?"

"We'd get in trouble." Rose was never a rule breaker.

"Okay, well, um, skip meals?"

"When will we eat? And anyway, our friends will miss us."

"Skip class?"

"NO!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I thought not."

They stood in silence for a few more seconds. "Well, we'd better get off to breakfast before we're missed," Rose finally said.

"Yeah." The left the classroom and headed off to the Great Hall.

Just when they got to the doorway, a pair of owls swooped down on them.

"Looks like we got letters," Scorpius commented.

"Not just any letters!" Rose cried. Red envelopes were dropped on their heads. "Howlers!"

A few curious eyes were wandering over to where the behowlered teens stood. The letters began to shake. "Let's get out of here," Scorpius suggested. The darted back down the hall.

Just as they were getting to the empty classroom they had just vacated, the letters exploded, spewing papery shrapnel and words like daggers.

Scorpius yanked open the door. "In here!" he yelled. They stumbled into the classroom and slammed the door. Now they had a chance to take in information about the Howlers. They were both yelling in men's voices, and saying things like so:

"-MY OWN FLESH AND-

"-DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY-"

"-YOU'D BETTER-"

"-IF YOUR GRANDFATHER HEARD-"

"-WITHDRAW YOU FROM HOGWARTS AND GROUND YOU FOR A YEAR-"

"-IF I HERE ONE MORE WORD-"

"-AND LILY'S AGREED TO WATCH YOUR EVERY MOVE SO DON'T TRY ANYTHING FUNNY, YOUNG LADY!"

There was a long, post-howler-type silence. "I get the feeling our families don't approve of our relationship," Scorpius whispered.

Rose grew red, like a rose, but angrier. "That Lily! She went tattling! And agreed to spy on me!"

"You told your cousin? Whatever happened to secret?"

"Oh, so _that's_ how-" Rose snapped angrily, before stopping mid-sentence. It was soon clear why.

"Rose…. Rose?" a girl's voice called, accompanying wandering footsteps. "Where'd you go?"

"Crap… that's Lily. I guess she wasn't kidding. Quick, in the supply cupboard!"

They scrambled into the cupboard, and Rose closed the door behind them.

Scorpius held his breath. He heard the door creak open.

"Rose?" Lily whispered.

A moment later, the door creaked shut again. Scorpius exhaled loudly. "That was close."

"I'll say," Rose agreed.

With difficulty, they extracted themselves from the cupboard. "Let's go somewhere more hidden," Rose suggested, bounding to the door.

"What for?"

"So we can talk, of course!"

Rose walked down the hallway in the opposite direction than that in which they'd heard Lily run. She took the first left, the a right, then a left, started up some stairs. Scorpius followed.

"Is this far enough?" he asked when they reached the stairs.

Rose looked around and nodded. "Sure." She sat down in the middle of the staircase.

"What do you think we should do?" Scorpius asked, sitting down next to her.

"I don't know. What do you think?"

Scorpius took a deep breath. "I think that… maybe we should break up."

"Break up? After only a day and a half?"

"It would be for the best. I mean, my dad is angry… and your dad is angry… and we can't really see each other anymore… and I don't want you to get in trouble. I know you don't like getting in trouble." Scorpius stared at his shoes as he leapt to his feet. "Maybe I'd better go…"

"No! Don't go!" Scorpius turned around to see Rose blinking against tears. She stood up. "We were meant to be together, Scorpius! I just know it!" she choked. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Let's go. Right now. Somewhere we can be alone."

"Where?"

"Anywhere. The castle is huge. It's easy to get lost. Let's do just that."

"What about breakfast?"

"We can skip breakfast."

"What about class?"

"Screw class."

Scorpius gaped. He never thought he'd hear those words out of Rose Weasley's mouth.

"You in?" Rose asked.

"Yes."

"Let's run." They ran.

xxxx

By the time the pair had lost their bearings and found them again, first hour had started. The castle was quiet. Everyone who had class was in class. Everyone who didn't was in their common rooms or in the library. Everyone, that is, except for Rose and Scorpius.

They strolled sneakily down the corridors, hand in hand. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, giving the place a quiet-summer-morning feel.

Without really discussing it, they found their way to an outside door and crept onto the school grounds. Scorpius looked at the grass. It was already dry and looked inviting. "Let's sit down," he suggested.

Rose nodded. "Yes, let's. But against the castle, so people looking out of windows won't see us. If we get caught, we're dead."

They sat with the wall to their backs and the sun on their faces. Scorpius grinned and closed his eyes. "In weather like this, I can almost imagine we're something more special than boring old school."

"This is Hogwarts, Scorpius," Rose retorted with a grin. "How much more excitement do you want?"

"Well, then, at least I can imagine a place with no homework."

"Better." Rose sighed. "In your imaginary place, do people try to tell you how to feel?"

"No."

"Can I come too?"

"My imaginary place is perfect in every way, so you're already there."

Rose grinned. "Awww." Over a few seconds, her grin lapsed into a frown. "If only real life was that perfect."

"Hey. If real life was that perfect, it wouldn't be an adventure." He put his arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry. It will work out."

"You sure?"

"No, of course not. Thanks for questioning my comforting but entirely unhelpful and unrealistic sentiment."

Rose giggled. "Darn. For a second there I thought you knew something I didn't."


	10. But Do Thy Worst

**A/N: Sorry for the extreme delay. I just wasn't feeling inspired about this story. I still don't feel inspired, but I figure I'd better just write the last chapter and get it over with. It will be short. Sorry. I know it ends abruptly, but so does the song. There's about a bazillion lines of sadness and agonizing and then Tay-Swizzle's like, "Oh, yeah, and then we could actually be together and everything was fine and dandy the end." So, sorry again. NOW READ, FOOLS.**

But Do Thy Worst to Steal Thyself Away

XXXXXXX

It was two weeks after the end of the last chapter, and Rose was in a sour mood. She hadn't gotten time alone with Scorpius since that day two weeks ago, when Lily had discovered her and Scorpius' absence from classes and lunch and found them outside, or, as she put it, "caught them sneaking about the castle grounds". Word had gotten out to Rose's father quicker than Fiendfyre, and now Lily, Hugo, James, and even Albus (who Rose had never expected to betray her) were stalking her every minute of the day and night. Even now, as she innocently studied for her Transfiguration test, she saw that both Hugo and James had their eyes trained on her from across the room. Rose was reasonably sure her dad was paying them.

To top it all off, Scorpius was practically ignoring her. The watchful gaze of Rose's relatives prevented them from conversing, it was true, but he didn't even try to pass her notes and hardly ever glanced in her direction. Rose was sure he simply wanted to avoid the wrath of her family, but some part of her wondered if he just didn't like her anymore.

Rose glared accusingly at her Transfiguration notes. She was too upset about not getting to see Scorpius and angry at her brother and cousins to concentrate. She shoved the stack of parchment back into her bag and stood up.

"Where are you going, Rose?" Hugo asked as she plodded past him.

"For a walk," Rose answered shortly.

"Can I come?"

"No."

Rose knew full well he would be following her at a distance anyway.

xxxx

Rose marched up and down the corridors of the castle, feeling particularly sorry for herself. "I hate this, I hate my dad, I hate my cousins, I hate myself, I hate my school, I hate Transfiguration…" She muttered under her breath. She didn't really hate any of those things, but telling herself so made her feel a bit better.

When she rounded a corner, she saw a folded scrap of parchment dancing through the air as if caught on a draft. But she was quick to notice that the draft in this hallway was going in the opposite direction: This parchment must be enchanted. She reached out with one hand and grabbed it.

Upon unfolding, it revealed this message:

_Rose,_

_The Hogsmeade trip is this Saturday. Meet me outside the Shrieking Shack at 2:48 exactly. Use the invisibility cloak to get away from your meddling cousins and brother._

_ -Scorpius_

For the first time all evening, Rose genuinely smiled.

xxxx

Even though it was 8:00 on Friday evening when Rose got the note, Saturday seemed to be a bazillion-gazillion-trillion-million-and-twenty-seven years in coming. Halls were paced. Furniture was leaned upon. A transfiguration test went un-studied-for.

"You look impatient, Rosie," James said. "What are you looking forward to?"

"Hogsmeade trip," Rose answered truthfully.

xxxx

About a bazillion-gazillion-trillion-million-and-twenty-seven years later, Rose stood in front of the Shrieking Shack, bouncing impatiently on the balls of her feet. She had managed to sneak the invisibility cloak out of James' bureau drawer and now hid under it. She knew her family was looking for her, but it would probably be a while until they checked here

Scorpius ran toward her, panting heavily. She whipped off the cloak just before he bumped into her. He jumped backwards and almost fell down.

"You're thirty seconds late," Rose accused him.

"Sorry, sorry, will you ever forgive me?"

"I guess so. So, what did you want to meet me here for?"

"Well, I wrote to you dad a few times, and he finally agreed to call off his little spies and let me date you!"

"Just like that? All you had to do was write him a letter?"

"Well, I sent him a few boxes of chocolate cauldrons, too."

"That's wonderful! You're the best boyfriend ever!" Rose hugged him strangle-ing-ly.

After he could breathe again, Scorpius asked, "Rose, will you be my un-secret girlfriend?"

Rose thought about it. "Is that better than secret girlfriend?"

Scorpius grinned. "It definitely is."

"Then I definitely will."

And they lived happily ever after.

The End


End file.
